Getting Twitter influence the right way

There are newbies, who are trying to figure their way around. So they are in transition in a way.

Then there are the other ‘veterans’. Most of these are on Twitter for a purpose. To largely be able to promote something or the other. Their services or some product or some brand. And they have come to the conclusion that the way to get there, is simply by having as large a follower base as you can.

And so we have people following, and getting followed by tens of thousands of people.

And they figure that when they send out their spams or their blog links or their status messages, their various followers are interested, and would catch it and that is their Twitter success.

Or like telemarketers, they figure that on a large base, a small percentage hit rate, still counts, and that’s the way to go.

But really is that the right way to use Twitter?

Let’s think for a moment, from the average Twitter user’s point of view. Chances are that she also has hundreds of people that she follows and gets tons of updates as a result. She is not watching her Twitter feed whole day long. Even if she has clients set up, she really “looks” at the feed, few times a day. At the rate at which tweets come in, I am sure she is not going back to see all the tweets that she missed between her consecutive Twitter sessions. So she is likely seeing only those which are active and fresh at the point of time.

And in those, if something appeals to her, she reads, takes action and others she lets go.

So for those other Twitter users, who had sent their tweets in between her sessions, and who counted her as amongst their thousands of followers, she was a waste. She did not read their tweets, and did not react to them!

Twitter used in this manner, then is a complete hit-or-miss situation.

For a tool that is so amazingly simple to use, that is so popular, can it’s utility be left to sheer chance, in this manner? There’s got to be a better way.

And sure enough. Enough serious and real knowledge gurus have been using the medium with a lot of understanding and foresight.

They ensure that their tweets are all relevant and good 140 character bits, which would actually be of interest to their followers. They ensure that the content is good. They don’t spam you with links, they don’t aggressively pitch you their wares. They don’t update each time they’re having coffee. In short, they don’t overburden their followers. They ensure that their tweets are made to count, and are worthwhile for their followers.

When done consistently and repeatedly, they make a reputation for themselves. And then if an average user is following them, even if she has infrequent Twitter sessions, she will look out for their updates. And pause to read, or click a link posted by them. Over time, she will eagerly await updates from them.

1. Don’t run after creating large number of followers. It is important to have a focused follower list, one that is typically your “target group” for whatever it is that you are trying to achieve. If others come on board, and they don’t react to your tweets and then leave, so be it. Don’t be obsessed with the number. Seek quality of followers rather than just quantity.

2. Good content works here too. If you give useful tweets, which are not just re-tweets or links being passed on, but your knowledge being shared, that will be valuable to your followers. Develop credibility on the basis of your content. Then your followers will watch out for your updates and you will truly have a sphere of influence via Twitter!